12 Years Of Banda Neira: Born, Big, Disbanded, And Reborn

Banda Neira (Photo: rukiinaraya)

JAKARTA - Banda Neira, is back with a new single entitled 'It's OK To Admit Tired'. This is the first single from a duo from Bandung which declared itself disbanded at the end of 2016.

Ananda Badudu (guitar, vocal), who was previously synonymous as a partner of the Rara Sekar (vocals) duet, now chooses to partner with Sasha to start a new journey from Banda Neira.

The name 'Banda Neira' itself is taken from the name of the historic and beautiful island in the Maluku Islands. Similar to its name, this duo is known as Indonesian music lovers through lyrics that display the beauty of Indonesian languages.

Not only that, Banda Neira's music which relies on the beauty of harmony and rhythm that rests on Ananda Badudu's guitar playing. Not to mention, the sharing of votes between Ananda and Rara is filling in each other.

In other words, Banda Neira's songs are a picture of the beauty of music itself.

Banda Neira was born from a small music event in Bandung. Then, Ananda and Rara released a mini album "In End of Time" in 2012. There are four songs in it, namely On a Paper Ship, Identah, Indeed Isok Pasti Bertemu (You Complain), as well as the musicalization of the Rindu' poem by Subagio Sastrowardoyo.

A year later, Banda Neira released her first studio album entitled 'Going Further'. Through this album, Ananda and Rara are increasingly recognized, the songs are enjoyed by young people, especially from students.

In early 2016, Banda Neira released a second studio album with the title Yang Patah Tumbuh, Yang Langgal Berganti. This album recorded in Bali and Yogyakarta shows the beauty of Ananda Badudu and Rara Sekar's music to another level.

Until Dust, which features Gardika Gigih (piano), became the best song Banda Neira has ever produced. Until now, the song has been heard the most on Spotify.

The song 'To Become Dust' broke the understanding of 'digitalized' music. When many musicians reduce the duration of the song, Banda Neira and Gardika Gigih come with songs 6 minutes 48 seconds long which are not boring at all.

'To Be Dust' is a brilliant work of Indonesian musicians who are 'lower'. Featuring the composition of music that is present in its entirety with dynamics that are neatly arranged and in harmony according to the dose.

But unfortunately, not long after Banda Neira produced her best work, Ananda Badudu and Rara Sekar decided to disband. They chose their own path, with big questions that are still a mystery to this day.

Rara Sekar has come with other music projects several times, including his solo music project under the name Hara. Meanwhile, Ananda Badudu formed a new group under the name Sauh.

On several music stages, Ananda Badudu also performed Banda Neira's songs. In the 2023 Partypora, Monita Tahalea appeared to replace Rara Sekar's position.

After that nostalgic appearance, Ananda Badudu told Banda Neira listeners that the reunion with Rara Sekar would not happen.

"I don't want to give ambiguous messages and expectations that hang on the public, so I better state with certainty, that until whenever, the reunion between me and Rara under the name Banda Neira will not happen," Ananda Badudu wrote in an Instagram post.

"But Rara supports wherever Banda Neira wants to be brought in the future," he continued.

Now, Banda Neira is reborn with a new single and formation. It's not fair to compare Ananda Badudu and Rara Sekar's four years together with Sasha.

Let's enjoy the new Banda Neira with Ananda Badudu and Sasha.